Danes said that she was persuaded to meet with the Commander-in-Chief by her husband, actor Hugh Dancy.

She said: "Hugh was like, 'We have to meet Obama', and we walked over before we could think and found ourselves shaking hands with him.

"I said, 'I'm Claire Danes', and he said, 'Oh, you're a fine actress'. And I said, 'You're a fine president!' And he said, 'Oh, you're a finer actress than I am president'. I didn't have any retort. Hugh and I went immediately to the bar and had a big shot of vodka."

She also discussed her recent motherhood, after giving birth to her first child last month. She said: "I've always wanted to have kids, but I'm glad I didn't until now. When I was thinking about [working and being a mother] originally, I was really nervous about it.

"I think I would make a lousy stay-at-home mom. It just wouldn't suit me. I feel so fortunate, in that I've had this arrow-straight focus... that I wanted to act."